Behind the Curtains
by patron electus
Summary: In which seventeen year old Klavier is intrigued by Troupe Gramarye's newest member, Apollo is not happy with his life, and Lamiroir doesn't exist.
1. Tinted Eyes

**-Chapter One: Tinted Eyes-**

* * *

There were some places you just had to perform at before you became a hit. The Fan Tais Casino and Hotel was one of them, and if you were invited to perform there you were pretty much set for life. So when the Gavinners were invited to rock out at their famous week-long Artistry Fair™, not even two months after their debut, they were over the moon. No sooner did their agent clear everything with the head organizer were the boys packing their bags and rushing to the airport, all the while their agent shouting after them to _wait, _you guys, you don't even have _tickets yet._

Her shouts fell on deaf ears. Her charges were pumped and ready for one thing: to **rock**.

Seventeen year old Klavier Gavin, lead guitarist, vocalist, and all around leader of the Gavinners, was particularly hyped for the occasion. After his debut as a prosecutor a few weeks prior, he was eager to lose himself in the loudness of rock and roll, to sing about love and law and chaos and order, to drown out the voice in the back of his head that grew louder every time he disappointed his older brother.

He had no idea of how loud and wonderful and real and _magical _his life was about to become. But you know. Looking back on it, given the choice Klavier would have wanted it to be a surprise anyway. The best things in life usually were.

It was the first night of the Artistry Fair-the opening ceremonies, if you would. The Gavinners were due to perform at around 9 o'clock, after some magic group Klavier didn't know the name of. His bandmates did an excellent job of keeping that information hidden from him. The rest of the band was celebrating their good fortune by just being there by emptying the bottle of wine their agent discreetly left behind for them before heading to the slot machines. Yes, she knew it was illegal, _technically, _but they _were _rock stars, after all, and it wasn't like they were going to get drunk off it, right?

"Right on," said the Gavinners' keyboard player August Gunner, a boy with a love of vests and dislike of sleeves. He corked open the wine bottle as drummer Plug placed five small cups on the table. "Who's first?"

"Is this a good idea? Drinking before a concert?" Their resident bassist Olldord Delire looked up from strumming his bass and watched August down a cup.

"I'm sorry, does anyone else hear the pussy in the background?" Second guitarist Daryan Crescend sneered while gesturing for August to pass him a cup. "Yo, Gavin! Get over here and help us empty this thing, will ya?"

"No, I think not." Klavier lay down on one of the beds, his head propped on his hands as he flashed August and Daryan looks of disapproval. "You realize this is the most _irresponsible _thing you could be doing right now? What happens if you overindulge and we have to play? What then?"

"Relax, Mom," August rolled his eyes. "This room has a coffee maker. If we 'overindulge'," he imitated Klavier's accent to surprisingly accurate results. "We can just whip up some coffee and get back to fighting form."

"I'm surprised Nina left this for us," Plug mused, cup in hand. He went to sit down next to Olldord, who scrunched his nose as the other boy put an arm around his shoulders and took a sip of wine. "Eew, this is nasty. How do people get drunk off this?"

"It's not so bad," Olldord said. The boys turned to him with raised eyebrows and he answered "Catholic."

They 'aahhed'. Plug made a face. "The priest must do something to it then, because this sucks."

"It's an acquired taste, jackass." Daryan told him. "The more you drink, the better it gets."

"It sounds as if you've _done _this before, Daryan." Klavier sat up and stared at his best friend. "Tell me you have not done this before."

Daryan scoffed. "Dude, I'm _nineteen."_

"…Which is still two years below the legal drinking age."

"Sheesh Klavier, what is your _deal?"_

"My _deal?" _Klavier whirled around to face August. "We are a _teenaged_ _law-themed _rock band and three of us are _drinking._ What message are we sending out to the little ones out there?"

"'Little ones'?" Plug sniggered. "Dude, our target demographic are kids our age and up, and you can bet most, if not all of them drink."

"They are not enforcers of the law." Klavier insisted. "Ugh, why do I try? The only one of you who has any real common sense is- Olldord!"

Olldord put down his cup and gave Klavier an apologetic look along with a shrug. "I'm bored."

"We are in a **casino! **There are better things to do here than get drunk."

"Gavin, seriously," Daryan growled. "Either get a cup, or fuck off already. You're giving me a headache!"

"Fine!" Klavier snapped and stormed out of the room, making sure to slam the door behind him. He had a few hours to kill before he was due to perform. There was bound to be something better to do than get drunk, right?

There were, but all of them required him to be twenty one and older. Damn.

Sighing, he made his way outside the Casino, to the parking lot out near the entrance. Some fresh air might do him some good, actually. Calm his nerves, so to speak. He opened the entrance doors and was met with a gush of cold air. He took a deep breath, allowed the winds to embrace him in their coolness and drain away the last few remnants of his anger.

"…can do this…you can do this…"

What was that? The teen rock star peered at his left, where to his surprise a boy not ten feet away was pacing back and forth, muttering to himself the entire way. However, what really grabbed Klavier's attention was the downright strange attire he was garbed in.

He looked like he belonged in a carnival. He wore a blue cape and hat akin to a magician's, his cape pinned together at the front by a diamond brooch. His hair was hidden from view, aside from the two small horns which drooped down his forehead, each of them meeting at the corner of each of his eyes, but looked to be a dark brown, same as his eyes, which were narrow with nervousness and concentration.

"…so stupid…" the boy was still muttering under his breath, completely unaware of the second presence now leaning against the wall, watching him with interest. "…gonna suck…why I have to do this…"

Klavier decided it was time to make his entrance. "You alright?"

Klavier winced when the boy let out a loud shout and possibly shattered his ears. The boy was quick to stop all movement, stand up straight and tall (or short, if you want to get technical. He was about a head shorter than Klavier was), and clear his throat loudly. Though Klavier couldn't tell from the shady lighting, his face was a bright red as he attempted to save it.

"Uh, sorry! I was, I was out for some fresh air-who wouldn't be, right? It's so stuffy in there and it's a miracle how anyone can think, really, but…" The boy stammered, until he slouched and pushed his hat down so his eyes were partially hidden. "Ugh, how much did you hear?"

"Not much," Klavier shrugged. "Aside from your rather turbulent self-bashing." He was more than intrigued at this point. Ten seconds into the conversation, and this boy had yet to make any of the usual commotion most people his age did when in the general vicinity of **The **Klavier Gavin. He just had to ask, "Do you know who I am?"

The boy blinked. "What? No. Should I?"

Klavier's first instinct was to reply _yes, you should, _but he bit down his tongue. Instead he shook his head and said, "Google Klavier Gavin later, ja?"

The boy's eyebrows knit together. "Okaayyy…"

He shifted between feet. "I'm, ah, I'm Apollo." He awkwardly held his hand out for Klavier to take. Klavier did so, a bit confused as to why he didn't give his last name but overall amused by how awkwardly the boy in front of him held himself.

"_Schön, Sie kennen zu lernen. _Nice to meet you," Klavier translated when Apollo gaped at him. He couldn't help but laugh at the gobsmacked expression on his face. "Now, how about now you tell me what has you so frazzled?"

Apollo appeared as if the last thing he wanted to do was confide in Klavier. He crossed his arms and held his head up high. "And why should I do that?"

"You shouldn't. For all you know I'm a kidnapper trying to lure you into a sense of security."

The shorter boy stared. "How is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"It's not. Tell me anyway?" And for this, Klavier slipped off the sunglasses he'd had on and slid them into his pocket, and gazed at Apollo with eyes very few were able to resist complete with a lazy smile. He was the personification of cool.

Apollo's cheeks reddened, as per the norm, but otherwise looked unaffected as he scoffed and rolled his eyes. "It's stupid." He said. Klavier raised an eyebrow. "It's just…there's this show later and…it's my first time…with, you know, _this…" _He gestured at himself.

The blond understood. "This is your first time performing?"

"It's so STUPID!"The outburst came out of nowhere. If Klavier wasn't already propped up against the Casino building, he would have jumped back as Apollo threw his hat to the ground. He seemed about ready to stomp on it like a child, but instead he roughly ran a gloved hand through his hair. "I've only been around for like a _month_. Why do I even have to dothis anyway?! This is ridiculous! I could be in school right now getting an education, but instead I'm here doing some stupid card tricks! Gah!"

Fuming, Apollo picked up the hat he'd thrown to the ground, jammed it back on his head, and let out another aggravated sigh. "But do they listen? No! It's all about 'upholding the family tradition' with those people! They couldn't give _two shits _about what _I _want." His voice finally began to relent, and he blushed red with either anger or embarrassment-perhaps both.

He glanced at Klavier with a semi-apologetic look. "Eh, sorry…I didn't mean to...can we pretend that didn't just happen? Please?"

Klavier stared at Apollo throughout his entire tirade and watched now with a gentle expression. "I can do that."

"Thanks." A few seconds passed before Apollo laughed uneasily. "Wow, look at the time! Show starts soon, I better be off. See you around!"

With that, he hurried back inside, his entire body stiff and his fists clenched at his sides, his cloak flapping behind him. Klavier watched him leave with a cocked head. He stayed in that position for several moments before he put his sunglasses back on, pushed himself off the wall, and followed Apollo inside.

By the time he entered inside, Apollo was long gone.

* * *

He hadn't planned to watch the show before his own-bad memories and all-but Klavier found himself in the midst of the hundreds of people clamoring about in the large stage room on the second floor of the casino, wearing a beanie he'd bought from one of the stores to disguise himself. Admittedly, it wasn't a good disguise, but he managed to hide within the dark lighting of the area.

His mind drifted towards the Gavinners. He wondered what they were doing now. Probably still getting tipsy, or maybe they were scouring the casino looking for him-they were due to perform soon, and they couldn't without him there. He supposed he could have called them, but he was still a bit miffed they were, you know, _breaking the law, _so he forced himself not to care and put all his attention to the stage in front.

It was your typical magician's stage. Numerous spotlights were attached to the ceiling, just waiting to be turned on and shone onto the lucky stars of the night. Klavier wondered vaguely what the stage would look like when it was his turn to perform. He itched to be underneath the warmth of the light, to have his name screamed out by the very same people he was surrounded with, the women stretching their hands out in vain attempts to touch him.

Suddenly, what few lights the stage room had was shut down leaving everyone in the dark, literally. More than a few people screamed; some out of fright but most in anticipation because they knew what lights out meant in this scenario.

And sure enough, the spotlights above the stage zapped on with such intensity several members of the audience flinched away. There was a clicking noise, and a voice boomed from the speakers placed along the walls.

"_Hello, everybody! Welcome to the Fan Tais Casino and Hotel, where money and luck go hand in hand! It's that time of the year again, what you've all been waiting for: the Artistry Fair!" _The audience cheered. "_That's right, folks, and we've got a full house this year! From the up and coming hit band, _The Gavinners-"

There was uproar of cheers, especially from the women. Klavier grinned.

"_-to magicians _Troupe Gramarye, _this year's Fair will throw all others into the water!"_

* * *

_Hello, peoples! Salve-SiS here with the first chapter of a new Klapollo!_

_..._

_Yeah, you read that right. Salve-SiS. You might be wondering about the Pen Name patron electrus. Well, there's a simple reason for that. I'm only one half of patron electrus. That's right, this is a _collaborative story _written by me and MasterMindOfFiction! Yay! This is gonna be so weird, sharing a story like this-but in a good way. So this story is a Canon AU with one thing that's changed, which you'll find out soon enough, but for now your only clue is Magician!Apollo. Who isn't too happy about the Magician part, it seems...what's going on there, I wonder...?_

_I pretty much made up those three Gavinners members on the spot-aside from August, who I actually thought up of awhile back for another story. The thing about the Gavinners is that with three members not accounted for, plus at least one agent, you're bound to have to include some OCs. Hopefully they won't suck crap. Some info on the three guys: August is a Shakespearean nut, and Olldord is Irish and the next most responsible member of the band, aside from Klavier-but he's more mature than Klavier is at this point. Plug I know next to nothing about, but hopefully MasterMind can create a cool personality for him. And we all know Daryan. Ugh, I have no idea how to write him, so I went with jerk for now. He's a jerk and a future murderer, but he's also Klavier's best friend so he has to have some kind of redeeming qualities...right? _

_So I'll see you guys third chapter (MasterMind's in charge of the second chapter), and in the meantime, review, favorite, follow, whatever you like-but one of those three would be awesome :)_


	2. About A Smile

Um, welcome to the second chapter of Behind the Curtains. . .your MasterMindOfFiction is here to take the train off the rails – strap yourselves in.

Seriously, be prepared! It's not spoiling anything to mention Zak and Thalassa will be making an appearance. . .and I'm so worried I've failed to write them. I recall writing Thalassa once, but never Zak. So be prepared for that chaos aaaannnnyyytime now.

_**0~0~0~0~0~**_

Behind The Curtains

Chapter Two – About A Smile

_**0~0~0~0~0~0~**_

He didn't want this.

He didn't need this.

The colorful lights from the stage changed between green, orange, and red quite rapidly almost enough to give one a heavy migraine. It was even worse when the nameless worker on the highest platform decided to move them about for certain 'dramatic' effect.

He didn't enjoy this.

He hissed under his breath and rapidly turned his back to the large curtains that separated him from _**that stage**_. Though his poor eyes that were once turning bloodshot had relief, he was quick to tense from head to toe and nearly fall over from a wreck of fear when music played.

In his personal opinion: that little 'mystical' tune from the keyboard was complete crap. Oh, the person playing it beside the stage knew what she was doing. She was very good, but his sour mood could only translate _**everything **_as repulsive.

This performance was repulsive.

His actions would be repulsive.

The man his mother simply had to marry and rope him into this was repulsive.

His life was repulsive.

Apollo blinked quickly, trying to get at least a little moisture to gather back in his eyes. Though the people were far away, the rest of the troupe always worried over looking the slightest mussed up. But personally, he didn't see what the big deal was if his eyes were slightly bloodshot from all of this.

But he wasn't lucky enough to talk reality into their heads.

'Smile, Apollo! Life is tough, but you gotta smile and go on!'

Apollo paused, arm still reaching into the nearby bag for that bottle of eyedrops. "(Isn't that what Trucy told me after she walked in on our debate?)" Actually, it was. He sighed, still not entirely accepting of all of this as he caught a glimpse of Thalassa from across the way and reached for the bottle. "(She's just a kid, you know. When she told you to keep smiling and move on, she didn't mean anything deep! Hey, tonight you're not going to listen to that crap – you're going to show everyone how much this truly means to you.)"

Which meant he'd have a special finger reserved for the crowd.

Briefly, he cracked a dark smirk at the thought and extended his fingers for just a little test. But soon he bristled, immediately straightening himself up and grasping the bottle for real when Thalassa sent him a curious expression.

Tonight. . .wasn't the night, was it? He couldn't end this horrible fate before it began?

No. Tonight would begin his apparent new career. Forget about his childhood fantasies, screw whatever he liked, you better stomp and spit on his current interest! Move over world. . .!

Because it's time for Apollo Justice: Fail Magician!

He just knew he'd fail – a terrible future churned in his mind. All he could see was this not working. How could someone like him manage this kind of career?

"(How can you even call this a career? We're just hiding some things under our cloaks, and striking cheesy poses. I'd like to see someone with THAT kind of history apply for a real career!)" Another dirty smirk. Apollo knew he shouldn't be so bold with his mother so close, but in the end she did need to get it through her head that this wasn't for him. He finally peeled the skin down and squirted the drops inside. "(I'd imagine that an interview of the sort would last, tch, one minute! 'So sir, how are your math skills'? Then 'Derp, I never went to that kind of class! But I know how to make cards shuffle on their own'! Oh, that would be horrible.)"

Well, it wouldn't be the _**worst **_interview in history.

Although. . .that would be running for the title.

Finally, Thalassa approached. Each step she took, she was like absolutely graceful and enchanting. Apollo almost lost his train of thought, once more tensing up and letting his world freeze to make time for her.

She did this to everyone, to be honest. Even Trucy would sometimes be left in awe by her mother's mysterious beauty and whatnot. Thalassa really wasn't a bad person, and she tried to be the best mother she could despite fifteen years ago when she. . .well. . .she wouldn't say what _**convinced **_her to run away with his real father.

At first, the two stood there a small distance apart. Thalassa didn't have to speak, she could merely smile gently at him and brush a delicate hand around his back to let him know that she was supportive of him. The look in her warm eyes indicated that she was happy he was going to give this a chance after all. It was kind of in his blood anyway.

With that kind smile of hers. . .he couldn't scowl. But he certainly felt like it.

Once again, Trucy's words. 'Smile, Apollo! Life is tough, but you gotta smile and go on!'

The rehearsed smile consumed his mouth, teeth flashing and everything. But he swore he was weakened significantly and currently falling to his death on the inside.

_**0~0~0~0~0~**_

"_**. . . . .What?"**_

"_**You can repeat the question as many times as you like Apollo, but the decision is final."**_

"_**(As if he would even remember how many times I said that! He's more than likely thinking about taking Mom to bed and-oh God!)"**_

_**The tension between the man and boy was already too thick for a sword to cut through, but the atmosphere wasn't helping matters. It was late outside, and the setting sun was almost completely out of the picture from darkish blue and purple. The only light in this study was given by two lamps because the overhead had recently blown out.**_

_**The darkness couldn't have been better symbolism for the feelings that currently welled inside the boy. He had recently entered these teenage years, but his main problems weren't even coming from puberty or girls. Nope.**_

_**Other boys probably weren't forced to deal with drama you only see on late night television.**_

_**How many families are so screwed up that they involve having people married into it dictate who is doing what with their lives?**_

_**Just because the man standing in front of him had married his mom and they made another kid together, it didn't mean he was going to listen. He didn't have any true right, did he?**_

_**The silence stretched on highly uncomfortably, Apollo's eyes locked on his feet and his face caught up in a less-than-understanding grimace.**_

_**Zak on the other hand, he wasn't entirely silent because he kept huffing like any second he could explode. Dealing with this kid was never easy, he wondered what kind of annoying * * * * Thalassa must have slept with before to create. . .this.**_

"_**Apollo," Zak finally removed the palm from his face. Trying not to show the boy his sign of defeat, he whirled away and looked to the ceiling as if to give the illusion of confidence in himself. "Who is the adult right now?"**_

"_**(Certainly not the guy who was previously banging his fist on the desk!)" "Well, I don't know."**_

_**Zak turned to him again, putting a 'harmless' grin upon his face. He took one step closer to ruffle the boy's hair 'playfully'. "Listen to me carefully: you're only a boy. You've no choice in your life, okay? Now Thalassa and I, we may be off and on. . .but that doesn't mean I'm not like a father for you, right? You're not going to school, you're not doing wasting your time with a college degree that you'll never actually use, you're staying here in this troupe and you will provide the 'help' we need."**_

_**Apollo had been glaring into his eyes for a long time, it was almost unsettling. But honestly, that didn't scare Zak in the slightest. He merely sent him a victorious, mocking small grin.**_

_**It was as if he knew that Apollo couldn't argue about it. He was too young to actually provide for himself, and he needed serious money for school.**_

_**That was. . .pretty much the end of that discussion.**_

_**0~0~0~0~0~**_

"(I should have sent my knuckles into his grin! It wouldn't have done much, but it would have made me feel better to see him fly back in pain!)" Apollo tried to conceal his angry shudder by quickly turning away and pulling his cape over. "(Why did you fall for someone like that, Mom?)" Even if he couldn't believe her actions, he still questioned if she was alright in the head.

Thalassa would more than likely once more drift away, unknowing of his internal thoughts about the matter. She noticed that he wasn't in the mood to talk, but began to be overcome with a suspicion that maybe he was being quiet so he wouldn't do something.

Like lie, for example.

But then again, she dismissed to herself as she straightened wrinkles in her skirt and walked away, why would Apollo have anything to lie about?

Before this _**beautiful family moment **_could be continued further, the music faded away as the announcer stopped his explaining of what events they'd have at tonight's festivities. Once the Gramarye name came up in the words, then the announcer decided to dwell into their history for a little bit. Also, it was apparently appropriate to hint at a 'new addition' to the troupe.

Apollo slumped against the wall, hands immediately raising to cover his ears and try to drown out the horrid gushing about what he knew was him. There was no direct naming or connections mentioned, because the announcer was trying to be 'fun' and just not-so-gently hint at what the crowd would be viewing tonight.

Oh, but the crowd must have enjoyed hearing such a thing. Everyone whooped and shouted for the show to freaking start already. They must really like magic. Or they like rock bands. Or both.

Apollo couldn't tune out the annoying babble and cheers, and suddenly his legs had turned to stone and he couldn't move. If only they would really transform to stone.

Sadly, the announcer wrapped up the description and teasing. People were sounding almost restless, and once more the keyboard played almost trance-inducing music to fit the mood for a magic show.

"We should be moving into position, Apollo." Apollo peeled his hands from his face, now finding himself gazing into the warm eyes of Thalassa. She reached her hand out and adjusted the stupid diamond that held the cloak together. "Don't be scared when you see the people, okay? This won't be like practice, and accidentally dropping or tripping won't be tolerated by the crowd."

"How. . ." 'How did I get born into this?' Apollo quickly bit his tongue for a second, now slipping away from her and forcing his smile as he fixed the diamond himself. "How do I stop myself from turning beet red at all of the attention being locked on me?"

Thalassa looked on for a moment, expression unchanged except for her brows rising a little. "Hmm, well I don't know if this would work for you. . .but sometimes I would just pretend that I was in another rehearsal in my bedroom or something." She soon relaxed, having removed the suspicion off her shoulders. Thalassa, still hoping for a good reaction, she reached out and clasped his hand as if fort support. "But there are different techniques for different people. I think that you shouldn't bother taking note of _**how many **_people are there; just try _**forgetting **_they're looking at you."

It wasn't just a horrified change in topic; Apollo really was mildly concerned of looking like a complete fool up there in front of those people waving cellphones to record this for the rest of the world.

But Thalassa seemed to genuinely want him to relax. Even though he was feeling so uncomfortable by her, she didn't take a offense. Here she was trying to play the role of a mother!

Well. . .once more, he offered his most hollow smile. Just as he did that, the curtains rose and the applause filled the room.

_**0~0~0~0~0~**_

There was time to kill before the show, and he really should have been tracking down his probably-drunken bandmates. If Daryan was the one leading the 'fun', there wasn't a chance everyone would make it out safe and sound.

But despite their safety lingering in his mind, Klavier noticed he was growing interested in this magic show. After he ran into that guy, he was almost. . .concerned of whether or not he'd survive.

The poor thing. Klavier, like everyone else in the crowd, cringed upon seeing Apollo briefly stumble at being summoned to the front of the stage. But he didn't fall on his face or anything, and he quickly removed the fear from his face and presented a radiant smile to everyone.

The lights dimmed once more, and all involved in the first trick took their places on the stage. Babble ensued from one man in a similar out to Apollo's, except this one being. . .pink? Or was that a pale red? No, definitely pink.

Zak Gramarye, Klavier was proud of himself for actually remembering the name, babbled in a dramatic tone of voice. It was hard to follow; he seemed to speak in circles about 'no coincidences' and 'not simple luck'. It had a lot to do with the opening trick, that obviously Apollo was going to join in on.

From what Klavier could gather: this trick wasn't anything too elaborate. It was going to be about the two of them trying to balance a very heavy object – it looked like an antique wardrobe from this angle –, and one of them would spontaneously disappear and leave the rest of the job to the remaining.

"(It's only a theory.)" Klavier folded his arms, sliding a little more comfortably into the seat and reaching out his legs to balance on the empty one in front. "(I do remember watching a magic show on TV and the people were doing a similar trick. I hope they don't play it too close to the original. Although Zak looks confident about something – maybe he's got a different ending in mind?)"

On the stage, Apollo made his struggled trek as if waist-deep in water. Klavier glanced left and right at people sharing this row – they were equally baffled as he was. He didn't have to react so dramatically, did he? Or was this part of the act?

Zak made a face for moment, looking like he could use a drink. Or two. But realizing that they had yet to even begin, he rushed over to the teenager with the cape dramatically flapping behind him. The two were in proximity, Apollo briefly grimaced as to be eye to eye. Then Apollo's wrist was gripped while he dragged him over.

"(Ooh, they have bad chemistry.)" Klavier's expression turned to one of almost empathy. He didn't know the story, he didn't know what caused Apollo to make several various expressions before settling on that hollow smile, but he cringed again and sank into the seat. "(That looked like it hurt. Maybe I should-? No, what am I thinking? I can't start thinking about _**that**_ before a show.)"

Still, a bad feeling overcame him. The triggering memory faded before the clear image approached, but soon Klavier was just rising back into the seat properly and paying close attention as they both put on Hollywood-style smiles.

Klavier wanted to see where this was going, especially considering he was seeing a possible explanation for Apollo previously throwing a tantrum about his life. Wanting to try and put pieces into the puzzle before him, dedicated eyes roamed left and right with each movement from them.

"Hey!" A familiar, non-threatening voice hissed. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

Well, Klavier would have been checking even the slightest twitch of fingers for help on their apparently horrible chemistry. But he soon lazily turned his head and found himself staring at Plug in the seat next to him.

There was something of a thing between everyone saying that Plug came prepared for even the most trivial situation. He ditched his previous dark and almost grungy clothing for a respectable suit, some glasses, and his wreck of curls underneath a hat. Klavier almost wouldn't have noticed him again; although two locks of hair with their own free will poked out from the hat with a vengeance.

A grin began to take up residence on Klavier's face, he looked him and down as if trying to test how far he could go. "Where do you acquire all of this stuff?"

His friend scoffed as if it were obvious, then slumped a little more comfortably in his seat with his eyes locked on the stage. ". . .There was a guy in the hotel lobby. We made a deal." With no prior warning, he turned his head to meet Klavier and looked on with no-nonsense on his face.

Hands were risen with surrender, but Klavier immediately returned to attempting to break him again by lightly tugging at his sleeve. "So you left a confused, naked man right in the hotel lobby?"

"We didn't make the deal like that." Plug shoved the glasses a little higher, then began to tap his finger mindlessly to that keyboard music. "But I'm more concerned of why you left."

Klavier was missing most of the performance, and the only thing he could catch after listening to the two make over-dramatic struggling noises was Apollo's smile briefly losing its shine.

He sighed quietly, knowing he'd never complete this puzzle with the world's least fun-loving guy next to him. Which was utterly baffling to him; he seemed to be a real party animal on the drums.

"In the years we've been friends, I don't recall you ever having an interest in magic shows." Plug rested his chin on the hand, and gazed away to hide the nostalgic smile. If he was caught looking like that, he swore he'd have to maim whomever saw it. "Besides everyone else in the group being * * * * * * * * – which isn't that different from the norm –, I can see there being a lot of other reasons to stay at the hotel. I couldn't handle them alone, and you know that."

"There wasn't anything else I could do." Klavier roughly slammed his palm over the arm of the chair. Frustration overcame him. "Sometimes, the world likes to rub it in my face that I'm not a true 'adult'. What else could I do but wait here for you to gather everyone else like you always do?"

Plug halfway understood, but he let the conversation die right there. He glanced to his frustrated friend again, but then caught notice of him keeping his eyes locked on Apollo and a reappearing Zak. But mostly Apollo.

A smirk lazily approached his face, then stayed. For a reason he doubted he'd ever comprehend, Plug was more than happy to still stare at Klavier with said smirk shamelessly staying.

Practically feeling that big, hideously-unfitting smirk being directed at him, Klavier once more turned to him and looked on with no amusement this time. It's like the world suddenly flipped, and they were randomly in each others' shoes.

"(Plug, I never know what you're thinking. The last time you smirked like that, it was when you walked in on me reciting a love confession for Penelope to a mirror. I can't believe I just had the flashback!)" Suddenly, Klavier found he was slumping in the seat and trying to be as small as possible, for once. For the first and _**last**_ time, hopefully.

_**THUD!**_

Everyone collectively gasped at the sudden sound, and Klavier swore his heart jumped out of his chest as he hurriedly sat up and looked on at the stage.

They were about to move on to the second trick, one that Apollo was also to take part in. But before he could arrive at the table they sat up, he seemed to have fallen onto his knees.

It wasn't anything to mock, however. He was actually pausing the world for as he hissed words and twisted to a different position to stretch out his legs and massage the injured locations.

Amongst that chaos, Zak continued his casual stroll over to the prop like nothing happened. It almost seemed. . .dismissive. Like he didn't particularly care about what happened.

Keen eyes would have been the only thing to call out the minor suspicion in his left boot looking kind of dented. Either Klavier was becoming superhuman, or he was just that interested in the incident.

But there was certainly _**something **_about Zak not reacting to the fall whatsoever.

T . B . C .

_**0~0~0~0~0~**_

I'm not too fond of writing short chapters, but I do hope this was satisfying enough. Surprisingly, I got into the story very fast as I began typing. It almost felt natural, or something like that. O _ O

Well, so now we've chapter two! And Zak is already a jerk! Well, we all saw that coming. . .soooo. . .what's got into his good mood? What exactly, beyond being himself, did Apollo do to annoy him like this? Well, all will be revealed as it goes on.

I took the liberty of adding Plug as sort of a, well, I guess you could say matchmaker type. He may appear a little more, probably to stir up trouble. But for now, let's wonder how the heck he acquired those clothes anyway.

Chapter three will be in the hands of Salve-SiS, the other half of this account! So let's all stick around for the next chapter, and see if this crazy train can be brought back on its track! Goodbye for now, dear readers. . .


	3. Hold Me Up

**Chapter 3: Hold Me Up**

* * *

The rest of the show went as well as Apollo expected, at least the parts where he was concerned. They got through the second trick alright, and he limped backstage while Thalassa and Trucy made their entrance. He had only a small part in the show, thank God, the rest was up to his family. Thalassa's grace and Trucy's adorableness proved enough for the crowd to forget about Apollo; he heard them shriek with delight as Trucy conjured up a baby bird from her hat and sent it to fly amongst the crowd. That was her favorite trick, aside from Mr. Hat.

He remembered the first time she did that trick for him. He'd underestimated her ability to actually do it, and he ended up with a face full of feathers and tiny talons in his hair, with Trucy shouting out for their mother in between giggles.

He really hated that bird.

The fifteen year old rested in a lone chair near the curtains, you know, that spot where you can peak out at the stage without being seen. He watched his stepfather, mother, and sister bow to the cheers of the audience after completing a trick, and it hit him how much of a family they looked, and it practically punched him to remember they were _his. _

He'd always wondered, growing up in the orphanage, who his biological parents were. He'd discussed theories with Clay a few times, back when they were younger, but he never would have imagined-well, _this. _It was certainly a huge shock to come back from school one day and find a woman he vaguely remembered from the TV waiting in the Head Caretaker's office for him. Even bigger of a shock to find out this woman, dressed like a magician, was his birth mother come to regain custody of him.

He hadn't been sure how to think of her, at first. This was the woman who gave birth to him, named him, left him a trinket so she could find him…who chose to leave him behind while she gallivanted off with some magic group. She'd explained it to him, about how after his birth father (another performer, what the heck was up with that?) died, only eighteen years old, she had no way to provide a stable home for the two of them, and when she tried to get help from her father, his grandfather, he had told her either Apollo goes or neither of them stay. He hadn't approved of her union with Apollo's father, and he didn't want her to have any reminders of her time with him-including her son.

Apollo knew, intellectually, that Thala-his mother did the best she could have done under the circumstances. He saw teenage mothers around his old neighborhood now and then, how tired and defeated they seemed with their babies in their arms, also miserable and appearing underfed. The orphanage had provided him three square meals a day, free education, medical care, etc. Things he might not have had growing up with Thalassa. So he couldn't be angry with her. The thing is, he still kind of was. He couldn't help it. Those first few days just seeing her face, especially when she tried to be a mother to him, ignited a spark of frustration in his belly. It faded away with time, when he realized how much she regretted having to give him up, and that she was genuinely trying to be a mother to him. She loved him, that much was clear.

He got a reminder of this love after the show was over, and the troupe went up to their hotel suite. Thalassa and Zack stormed into their room, and Thalassa proceeded to shout at her husband for tripping Apollo on the stage.

_He was ruining the show! I was trying to keep him from making any more mistakes! _

_I don't care! Do you want Child Services to take him away? Because they will if they suspect he's being mistreated by his father! _

_I am __**not **__his father. The boy himself makes that very clear every time I try to show any sort of concern over him! _

"You up for some spaghetti, Trucy?" Apollo slammed a large pot onto the kitchen counter, muffling the shouts from the bedroom.

The eight year old, face still flushed from her performance, kept a fixed gaze on the door to her parents' room until turning to face her older brother with a wide smile. "Polly…"

He knew that smile. "No, Trucy."

"But, _Polly!" _Trucy pouted. "It's been forever!"

"You just had some yesterday!"

"Exactly!"

The teen opened his mouth to retort, but he was interrupted by the sound of something crashing into the floor. His startled shouts mingling with Trucy's, the two siblings flung to each other. Apollo waited until his heart calmed down before peeking down at Trucy, whose entire body shivered while she stared at empty space.

Sighing mentally, Apollo walked over to the mini fridge on the counter and opened it up to reveal an open box of ice cream sandwiches. He pulled out two and offered one to Trucy. "Just this once, okay?"

Trucy's smile was immediate. "Thanks, Apollo! You're the best!"

She snatched the treat from Apollo's hands, ripped it open, and was about to take a bite when- "Ah, ah, ah! We eat at the table, remember?" Apollo tapped her head, a half-serious, half-playful frown on his face.

Trucy scrunched her nose but complied. Sitting themselves down at the small coffee table in front of the couch, the two managed about a minute of civilized conversation before they found themselves in a competition over who could finish their desert first, which ended with Apollo crying out with brain freeze, Trucy throwing her hands up in victory, and their faces smothered with chocolate. Her brother was ready to demand a rematch when the sound of a door creaking open caused them to freeze in their tracks and look up trepidatiously.

They managed to catch a glimpse of Zak's silhouette before Thalassa closed the bedroom door shut behind her. Wiping at the corner of her eye, she smiled at her children.

"Your father and I have some things to discuss," she said, as if she only just realized they were within earshot. "Maybe you two could go downstairs, play some games?"

Apollo's eyebrows rose. "Mom. You need to be twenty one and up to play those games."

"Not _those _games. There are plenty of activities for children to take part in, with the Fair going on. I think I might have even seen a petting zoo somewhere…" Thalassa trailed off thoughtfully. "…and most of them are free actually, which is quite generous of them."

"That's because you already have to pay an **eighty**_-_**five **dollar admission's fee just to get in." Apollo muttered under his breath.

Trucy was hooked on one thing. "A petting zoo? _Really?_ I love petting zoos! Come on, Polly!"

The eight year old latched her hands onto her big brother's and tugged at it impatiently.

Her mother called out, "Trucy, you don't expect to go anywhere looking like that, do you?"

"Huh? Like what?" Trucy bounced up and down on her toes, a startled smile on her face.

"She's talking about all that gunk on your face," Apollo said.

"Look who's talking! You look like you have a beard or something!"

"_What?" _Apollo wiped at his face in horror while Trucy giggled and tried to lick her own 'beard' off. Thalassa smiled at them light-heartedly before shaking her head and whipping out a white tissue from the inside of her glove.

"Let me," she said, crouching down so she was at Trucy's level. She cleaned the food off her face before rising back to full height and heading over to do Apollo. He stood rigid as she slid the cloth up and down his cheeks, not reacting even when she licked the cloth or dug into his face too deep. The matrons used to clean up after him when he was little-but it had never felt like this.

She patted his cheeks when she was done, a gentle smile on her face. "There. All clean."

Broken out of his reverie, Apollo coughed. "Thanks, Mom." It was said mostly in embarrassment, but there was a trace of affection laced into his words.

Her smile widened.

* * *

"Drink," Nina pushed two cups of steaming coffee across the table and glared at the two boys in front of her.

Olldord held his head in his hands, and moaned every few seconds or so. August attempted to prop his boots on the table, but he faltered at the last second. Nina lunged across the table and swiped his coffee away before he could knock it down onto the floor. She hissed when drops of hot coffee landed on her wrist.

"Tell me again," Nina pinched the bridge of her nose, her eyes closed in an effort to stay calm. "How you thought getting drunk two hours before you're supposed to perform _live _was a good idea? And while you're at it, why don't you tell me where the hell Klavier and Plug are?"

"Plug left when things started getting out of hand," Daryan answered from his spot on the couch. "Klavier before that."

"Well, that's two I don't have to clean up after. Hey!" Nina snapped a finger at August, whose head had started to droop. "I swear to God, if you pass out, I'm donating all your Shakespeare crap to charity."

The insult motivated August to whip his head up and glare at Nina with renewed passion, albeit through half-lidded eyes. "It's not crap. Shakespeare was-a frick'n ge-genius, an' if you even think about touchin' my collection-"

"You'll what? Get drunk right before one of the most important gigs of your life and jeopardize your career? You've already done that."

"Hey, you're the one who gave us the bottle." Daryan said. "What did you expect us to do?"

Nina grit her teeth. "I expected you to drink _responsibly_. Maybe I overestimated your levels of maturity, but I figured, with all of you being _cops-"_

"Only August is an actual cop," Daryan pointed out. "Oh, and I'd keep an eye on Ollie over there. He looks about ready to collapse."

Nina whipped her attention around to the Irishman. "Olldord, Ollie. I know you're tired, but you have a very important gig tonight, remember? You don't want to let all those people down do you?"

"Okay, why does Ollie get gentle encouragement and I get death threats?" August asked. He was sobering up with every sip of coffee he took. "You're making me feel quite unloved here, babe."

"First, never call me babe again. Second: Olldord isn't a complete idiot like you and Daryan are-yes Daryan, you are an idiot, and is that-are you _still drinking?" _

"No," Daryan denied, tossing his empty cup of wine away.

"-And third: Seriously, call me babe again, or any variation of the sort, and I will castrate you with my bare hands."

August was silent for several seconds until, "Kinky. I like it."

Nina was this-_this _ready to strangle the living daylights out of him, concert be damned, when the door opened and a familiar voice shouted, "The sanity returns!"

It was Klavier and Plug, the former looking unchanged from the last time she saw him but the latter wearing a whole different set of clothes she didn't remember seeing in his wardrobe, which was why her first words to the pair were this: "Where'd you get those clothes?"

Plug waved a dismissive hand at her. "Not important. But-I have a date tomorrow afternoon. That okay?"

Nina snorted. "Right now you're my favorites, so you can do whatever the heck you want."

"A true honor," Klavier said. "What else does this new status give us-a kiss on the cheeks, perhaps?"

"…If you're lucky." But the wink Nina gave him showed she was kidding. "So where were you guys, anyway?"

"Ah, that is the question, isn't it?" Klavier's smile faded. "May we talk in private, Nina?"

Uh-oh. Nina frowned, but complied, telling Plug to take care of the boys. She and Klavier separated from the others, huddling themselves into a small corner. Klavier appeared uneasy, which startled Nina because he was-well, he was Klavier. She asked him what was wrong, and really, she should have been expecting this:

"Why did you not tell me _that group _was here?" Klavier took off his sunglasses and gazed at her with furrowed eyebrows, but otherwise his expression was undetectable.

Nina closed her eyes. "You found out."

"I stumbled across them during a show." Klavier shook his head. "Did you think I would refuse to play, if I knew they would also be performing here?"

"No. It was more I wanted to avoid this conversation." Nina sighed. "I know you don't remember that first case very fondly, so I thought-"

"So you thought to keep Troupe Gramarye hidden from me," Klavier finished for her, and she nodded.

"I had the right idea apparently, since you thought it worth confronting me about."

Klavier had no answer to this. They stood there in awkward silence, only broken when the teen slid his hands into his pockets and said, "Do you know about their new member?"

Nina raised an eyebrow. "What new member?"

"Ach-nothing. Forget I said anything." Klavier grinned at her. "Almost time to rock then, ja? Olldord seems to be recovering…"

But the faraway look in his eyes told Nina one thing: even if she forgot, he wouldn't.

* * *

The concert went as well as expected: that is to say, they rocked the house. After the concert ended, the Gavinners were all exhausted and ready for a night's sleep. On their way up to their suite however, Plug elbowed Klavier in the chest and tossed his head to the left. Eyebrows raised, Klavier followed his band mate's gestures and proceeded to halt in his tracks.

It was that boy…Apollo.

* * *

_I'm not too fond of this chapter, but it could have been worse. I was kind of trying to emulate this one author's writing style, and it was actually easier for me to write like that-so maybe expect more chapters like this? I have a bad habit of switching between writing tones. _

_I loved writing Apollo and Trucy's interaction scenes. Can I just say I love the relationships between little sisters and their brothers? _

_MasterMind is so lucky. She can write 3,000+ in less than a day, while it takes me two days to write a 2,000 word chapter. Sigh. _


	4. When You Have An Opportunity

So. . .-leans closer with hand propping chin and a fascinated smile on the face-. . .do you like being thrown around violently while the train goes absolutely nuts off track? : )

Usual comments are usual: beware of the 'Master Of' chaos. Writing this wasn't very easy, and its entire development process was _**awkward**_ for me. Erm, you'll see as you go along.

_**0~0~0~0~0~**_

Behind The Curtains

Chapter Four – When You Have An Opportunity

_**0~0~0~0~0~**_

"Hmm, what do we have here? Apollo?"

That voice was so freaking familiar! Not only familiar; this perhaps over-exaggerated European accent slipped in was just enough to make him want to completely turn and flee. 'European', because he had no clue what kind of act he was trying to pull. Just because his family traveled about, he hadn't been out of the country at all.

But in that moment, he wanted to be zapped out of here and to another country. Somewhere far away from all of this. Just to escape this screwed up family and divas!

Sadly, his deep desire couldn't be granted. Footsteps alerted him to two new presences approaching. Apollo didn't know if he could deal with seeing that guy again – really, the first encounter was embarrassing enough –. . .but Trucy remained only a small distance away behind him and stared into his eyes with pure curiosity.

There should have been a third option: falling to the floor unconscious. Before that can be argued, let's just say that being unconscious could help in so many ways. It would be _**relief **_for once.

All of this thinking wasted his time. Apollo hurriedly whirled around after dragging his head from the clouds, and immediately gasped to see that he was nearly face-to-chest with a guy he couldn't say he met before.

"Hey, don't mind me." Plug gazed down into his eyes, complete lack of care on his face. But just so there were zero misunderstandings, he reached for the boy's shoulders and pushed him back. "I'm a poor bystander, okay? I'm not someone you get close to."

Klavier couldn't help sending Plug an almost baffled expression. Though. . .should he really be thinking about anything he said too deeply? In any event, he returned to grinning with no care in the world at Apollo.

"So Apollo – I believe that's your name –, what work of fate brings us together?"

Those words could have had so many meanings.

All expression and care drained from Apollo's face, he honestly didn't want to know where this was going.

Really, he didn't even know what to _**say **_to something like that.

Plug, being a 'bystander', he stood in the middle and looked at either party with a damn smile. He knew he was going to regret doing it in public, but he saw a checklist in his mind. He knew this exact thing going on.

_**Opportunity**_. Two choice loomed over, although neither party could see. In his mind, the 'master of all preparations' was assembling his checklist for what was needed to enable their good end. But with one minor shift of just the toes, they could slide into the bad end by accident.

Apollo knew everyone was waiting for him to speak up. He continued to stare holes through the floor and rub his hair enough to make it spark with electricity. But how could he talk now? Why did they want him to talk?

"Polly, you don't have to be so rude!" Disapproval decorating Trucy's face, she leaped out from behind Apollo and began to dramatically wave her hands around and make disgusted sounds. "You're probably restless about going out, but we shouldn't ignore other people!"

Klavier lowered his head slowly, now finding himself taking in a little girl. Hey, wasn't she Thalassa Gramarye's daughter? In any event, a special smile reserved for the ladies appeared on his face and he crouched to her level.

Apollo peeled a hand away from his eyes for a fleeting second, fingers dragging down skin and revealing veins popping out again from all of this stress. He groaned, shifting on his feet with no interest whatsoever as the two seemed to be. . .getting along?

Wait, wait, was this diva guy charming his sister?

And why wasn't his friend making an effort to stop him?!

"I believe I saw you on stage tonight." Hey, age didn't really concern him. The more exposure, the better. Klavier's eyes practically sparkled as he looked at her. "What are you doing here with Apollo?"

Trucy's own eyes shined, but this time with happiness over being remembered. "I'm Trucy Gramarye: soon-to-be-famous magician! I'm his sister!"

Ah, well he couldn't say there was a lot of imagination to be used there. His first thought when looking at the two at separate occasions was that they had similar hair and eye color.

"That's _**all **_of the information you need." Apollo suddenly stepped over, hands locking onto Trucy's shoulders in preparation to peel her away from the glamorous side of the world. "If you don't mind, we were going to-"

"Were you there to see the Gavinners' performance, Trucy?"

"I wanted to see it, but then Mommy suddenly rushed us back to the hotel after the show was over."

"I see. Well, do you know who you're speaking with right now?"

Trucy paused entirely, not just idly tapping her foot and staring at him with bafflement. Honestly, she couldn't say she knew who this guy was. But that was okay; Klavier seemed to be enjoying setting up a suspense for her, no matter how ridiculous it became and Apollo impatiently reacted.

". . .You happen to be speaking to Klavier Gavin."

Apollo, not extremely impressed so far, he continued to lean against the nearby wall. Really, what did it matter? He couldn't say with an honest tone that he heard of the 'Gavinners' before. This guy probably was a newbie that one else cared about-

"Oh! You! Oh my gosh!" Suddenly, life was completely amazing! A beaming smile appeared on Trucy's face, and she seemed to be struggling between excitedly trembling and whirling over to Apollo as if to see if he was excited too. "Apollo, he's the lead singer! I've only heard one song on the radio once, but he's actually-!"

"(There's no reason to spontaneously explode over him!)" "That's great and all, but didn't you previously want to go to the fair?"

"Oh yeah," But how could she do that, and get to talk to the owner of the voice who enchanted her? Trucy briefly looked left and right between them, but suddenly clasped her hands loudly. "I know! Klavier seems to know you, Polly. . .maybe he could join us?"

Maybe Klavier could join them? Despite he and his friend looking on with amusement from the suggestion, Apollo tiredly buried his face in his hand as to wonder why the hell they would do that.

Really, it was originally just a way to get Trucy out of harm's way. Besides, the two of them hadn't spent a lot of time together in the recent weeks because of planning for their big show. This big-name 'Klavier Gavin' may have taken the time to listen to him moan about sadistic fate, but there wasn't a chance he would have a soft spot and-

"We were going to rest for the night, but I can't refuse an offer from a fan." It was practically stated with angelic harmony. Apollo's eyes snapped open, horrified at such a thing. But when he gazed down at his sister, she was excitedly bouncing on her toes.

"You know," Now Plug entered the conversation again. Everyone watched as he rubbed his hands, looking away as if to hide an interested expression. "I haven't been to the fair since I was ten." Obviously, nostalgia shackles were weighing him down.

"Wait a second, I didn't intend to bring a party with us!" Apollo was quick to try and beat this suggestion before it became reality. But suddenly, he was staring at _**three pairs **_of soul-piercing eyes.

That was just sad! However old Klavier and his friend were, they certainly looked older than him. Despite the obvious – like obsession with gaining exposure and nostalgia –, why would either of them care so much about this?

But perhaps the greatest wonder of all was this: how could two teenage guys have puppy dog eyes as powerful as Trucy's? She was basically the master of that art!

Even though Apollo feared where this was going, he eventually lowered his head with defeat and allowed them to see his fingers massaging his temples for some kind of comfort.

Of course, Trucy was quick to throw herself at him and repeatedly thank him for agreeing like he just paved the way for Heaven to open up and make the rest of her life absolutely wonderful.

_**0~0~0~0~0~**_

Wasn't this intended to be a strategy to spend some time with his little sister away from the chaotic side of their family?

If that was the case. . .why did he put up with having two rock stars on either side of him while he walked, rambling at one-thousand MPH about their lives and general stories that he could care less about? Oh well, at least Trucy skipped each step with full attention on them – she seemed to be having the time of her life just listening to how the concert went and how they discovered they had separate passions for music.

To confess: Apollo never found music to be worth making a living out of. He didn't mind soothing instrumentals of flutes and pianos. . .that stuff was okay. But Klavier Plug spoke as if their music during that concert was enough to cause a giant sinkhole to open in the floor. They were saying that as to _**compliment **_themselves and the other guys in their group.

. . . . .Well, he couldn't be happier that he was dragged out of there on time! Ugh, rock music should seriously be illegal considering it never did anything but cause migraines, deafness, and alcohol poisoning.

Finally, as Klavier and Plug's egos began to reach the point of bursting with hot air, the longest walk of the party's lives seemed to crash to a stop. They noticed they were out into the night air, and had walked into the section where the aforementioned fair was held.

Thankfully, the lights were still shining to the point of blinding. Carts for food and games remained open too, and there was a pen reserved for those animals.

It would seem that people didn't mind fighting the night air at ten o clock. Parents, children, lots of faces sprinted and or walked about to finish up their night.

Trucy's eyes instantly filled with sparkles again. She tightened her grip on Apollo's wrist and mercilessly tugged as if to drag him over. "Well, let's hurry! I wanna see the petting zoo before it closes!"

"Okay, okay," Apollo had to dig his feet into the ground just to hold him still, and thankfully she realized that. Once they were both standing properly again, he squeezed himself from between their new 'companions' and whirled around to face them. "I'm going to take Trucy over there, so you guys don't have to linger around here if you don't-"

Plug's eyes instantly sparkled too, but that was when they landed on a cart that wore a 'one cupcake, one dollar for charity' sign. Ignoring the charity business, saliva gathered. "I see no reason for us to leave now that we've come so far." Out of the blue, he turned to Klavier and clasped a hand to his shoulder as to volunteer him 'helpfully'. "Klavier here, I wager he won't mind keeping you two company."

"Plug!" It wasn't meant to be shouted, but that hand knew exactly it was doing as it 'helpfully' shoved him in the 'right' direction.

The siblings were already strolling away, but soon looked back behind and paused. It looked as if one of them had something to say. But considering that Klavier was still fixing his hair back in place and sending a smirking Plug a non-amused expression, one of them had a plan. . .

With all of the attention now on him, any previous stumbling was ignored. Klavier flashed his smile again, hands moving to his pockets as he followed after the two. His only explanation for joining them was a weak – but effective by a rare chance –: "I've only been to the fair once as a child. Perhaps this night would be educational."

Hey, it's not like anyone who knew would throw themselves at him here. The lights were dim, and his fans probably weren't old enough to be running around shady streets and hotels late in the night. As he said to save face: this would be educational after all.

The first time was the last, but the memory of it would return in a rare second, and make him wonder if it would happen again. Oh well, that's the price to pay sometimes.

Of course, Trucy looked to be completely ecstatic of her new-found idol spending time with her. It especially showed when she practically yanked Apollo's arm innocently violently in the process of gripping his hand and running over to the action.

_**0~0~0~0~0~**_

"Okay, so the * * * * did Klavier and Plug run off to?"

"Does it really matter?"

"I'm just curious. They're always trying to kill our fun, but what if they're secretly having a good time?"

"Look, I know these beds are hard to sleep in-"

"Yeah, well that's one thing preventing me from sleeping."

"Daryan, you don't have to keep tabs on them all the time. Man, you need to relax and enjoy the adventure."

"Well, I doubt I'll be getting any sleep on this mattress that's _**stiffer than a wooden plank**_. What do you think about a late-night walk to ease off the after-effects? Maybe we'll even convince those two to let us join in on the scandal?"

"Oh God, will you stop worrying like that? Anyway, just forget it and take this pillow!" _**THWAP!**_

"Aah! What the- What's inside that pillow?!"

"Whatever it takes to make you sleep. Whatever it takes."

Daryan removed the pillow – which was apparently filled with naughty magazines? – from his face and was _**this close **_to letting his bandmate take a fist to the face instead of a mere stuffed pillow. But in the end, he lifted himself off the unholy mattress and decided to take matters into his own hands.

See, this is why he always tried to get Plug to do extended research on hotels. You just never know when a room will have the spawn of evil in the physical form of a mattress.

_**0~0~0~0~0~**_

"Look, she likes me!" Trucy said this through giggles as ran her hands through the pony's mane. The aforementioned pony, she was closely examining this stranger that was leaning over the pen.

She probably wondered what the heck was all of this noise and chaos.

But the girl leaning over the pen had food to give. So. . .eh. . .she'd go with the flow.

Next to her, Apollo played the role of an overly-worried parent pretty much. She was just leaning so close over the pen, he didn't want her coming back looking dirty and bruised. So, muttering various paranoia-induced theories and compliments about the pony's appearance, he kept his hands on her shoulders.

You know, as dangerous as Trucy could make this activity, this wasn't a bad way to spend the evening. Not to mention Klavier was quiet, and seemed to keep a small distance to allow them breathing room. Because despite this 'magnetism' he claimed he had with the ladies, he apparently didn't want to intrude any more than he was forced to.

"I've always wondered what having a horse would be like." Trucy seemed to be thinking out loud. Or maybe this was directed at the young horse. In any event, she continued to lean over and stroked her on the nose carefully. "I bet it would be so fun to ride a horse! Hey Polly," Out of the blue, she turned her neck and looked at Apollo. "Have you ever wanted a pet?"

"Hmm?" Where would that topic arise from? Forgetting the randomness, Apollo reeled her back in until she was on her feet again. He shook his head for a belated response. "Even if I wanted to have a pet, I never would have been able to sneak one into the orphanage."

Trucy nodded slowly, Apollo guessed she didn't know the full story about the orphanage story. After all, she hadn't been informed of the entire family backstory.

In any event, Apollo rotated back to the pen. He was soon being nuzzled, and warm air hit his face every few seconds. He tensed and merely stared upward to try and catch a glimpse of what she was doing.

"Aw, she must like you too." Trucy watched the scene they were making, giggling behind the palm over her mouth. This whole thing was just bizarre, because Apollo could get more than a little awkward with affection of any form.

"She probably just likes the smell of my hair." Apollo tried to laugh it off, hoping that this didn't mean anything freaky. He tried to slip away, but the warm air continued rushing from her nostrils to his forehead. "O-okay, let's, let's stop."

But the most bizarre thing was when her mouth closed in on his hair antenna and she started attempting to _**chew **_on it.

"Trucy. . .!"

"Don't act surprised! Just take it like you expected this."

Apollo could only stand there, eyes shifting up to see his hair now being chewed on. But if you asked him – this was the most agreeable thing he had encountered in a long time. No one else seemed concerned about this horse trying to eat his hair. Hell, passing people didn't even give a second look. Trucy even skipped away from his side and to another pen when she noticed there were lambs.

"Trucy, wait!"

"The baby sheep are _**so **_cute!"

Well, that settled that. Apollo tried to step away, but he really didn't know a lot about how to interact with horses. It probably wasn't like spraying a cat with water, or raising the voice at a dog. How was he going to free himself from this? And where on the entire layout of earth was that man in charge of this activity anyway?

It felt like an eternity of gazing up at the possibly-good-intentioned creature. Apollo tried to smile and relax, maybe fake her out and give the image of no threats. She didn't mind, really. She snorted maybe contently and tasted the faded shampoo. He tried to step away, nudge her chest, talk to her, but nothing seemed to help.

Finally, boots scratching the dirt alerted him to a new presence. Apollo sighed aloud, releasing the gate and turning as far as he could to give the man in charge a plea for-

"Well, someone's popular." Oh God, Klavier? Yeah. . .yeah it was Klavier. He joined him at the side, casually leaning against the pen and with two cans of soda in his hands. "I thought you could use a soda, but it turns out you need more."

"Can you help me?!" Desperation, okay? Complete desperation! Yeah, they hadn't known each other long. . .but Apollo was willing to send him a plea in the eyes, reaching for the offered soda that he was shocked he remembered. "Wait, unless you know anything about horses?"

Klavier smiled once more, reaching out to brush her nose. "To tell you the truth: I've never been this close to one. But it shouldn't matter, right? Just give her a shock." With that, he cracked a hole into the can out of nowhere. It broke, the noise echoed, liquid began to rush to the surface, and the pony immediately jerked away and forgot about her captive.

Before Apollo had any awareness that all of that seriously just happened and why did it, Klavier had a tight grasp on his sleeve and was hurriedly dragging him away as the pony began to freak out from all of the noise.

_**0~0~0~0~0~**_

The fair wasn't stretched out too far, so Trucy was still in their vision. Apollo was beyond thankful for that – he just didn't want tonight to be the night he's blamed for neglect. Though to be honest, he would have rather been blamed for anything else than that.

Across from the pens for the animals, there were rows of benches for the weary. They were underneath lights too, so that certainly helped a lot. Right over there, Trucy's single goal was being fulfilled as she excitedly held a conversation with another person who seemed to take over as the one managing things.

Now on the bench, both teenagers slumped tiredly from different kinds of fatigue. It wasn't all based on that hair-chewing incident, you know. They had been performing on stage, and Klavier was sure that he shouldn't be walking around after falling.

Wait! The fall!

"(What, are you stupid?!)" Klavier cracked an eye open, looking over at Apollo from his side of the bench. If he could have slapped his palm to his temples for being so forgetful With no control, his gaze drastically lowered from the face and alternated between his knees and ankles. "(This could be your last chance to ask if he's okay. He didn't seem to have a good first time on stage, and there was something worrying about his interactions with Zak. Oh, you KNOW it's hardly any of your business. Still, he seems to be the type who won't let even a simple action die peacefully.)"

In this business, you'll encounter people who'll only be face to face with once. A few hours ago, he never would have believed that he'd see this guy again. For some reason, he really didn't mind joining him to get a little glimpse of lighthearted entertainment.

You know. . .it could have just been this sugary beverage – but he thought he was starting to become unnecessarily bold with his thoughts. This was the kind of concern he'd expect to have after seeing a beautiful girl take a painful dive. Not a guy.

Oh well. That was the _**least **_of the awkward things he had seen tonight.

"Hey, my legs aren't _**that **_attractive." That deadpan tone shoved a needle into his trance, effectively pulling him out of it. Klavier leaned against the bench again, but lifted his eyes to meet Apollo's less-than-amused expression.

"Ah, sorry." Klavier swore that apology was genuine. Ugh, what was screwing and twisting with his mind tonight? He waved a hand in the air dismissively, hoping he'd just forget about the leg topic. He soon sighed, finished with this pause. "It's just that I happened to be sitting in the audience during the your performance."

Apollo instantly froze uncomfortably, all weight to balance seemingly rushing to his previously-battered knees and ankle. But he didn't feel it was necessary to reply. He just expressed it all through random cupping the arm on the bench.

Maybe he didn't want to talk about it, but Klavier wouldn't settle for not knowing the details. Thankfully, he was not oblivious to his luck with making others talk. First he took it slow; a non-threatening smile lazily arrived on his lips when he met eyes with Apollo.

Still, Apollo purposely kept his eyes away from him when he realized they made contact. But his face revealed eyebrows starting to furrow, and the nostrils flaring a little.

Now the speed increases. With his hand not-so-discreetly reaching out literally with fingers brushing his shoulder. This was done to provide nonverbal support – Apollo needed to be aware that he was on his side, no matter what was said.

After a timed seven seconds of that, Apollo pulled his hand off the arm and dared to send a fascinated expression to the fingers softly relaxing on his shoulder. It was strange, yes, but he also couldn't help sensing that Klavier would like to know more than what was shown.

Now the main act: persuasion with words. Klavier used a soft tone, barely saying above a whisper: "Talking about it will help more than you know. Yell it if you have to. Where's that passion you had at our first encounter?"

Did this guy really care about his personal problems? Him walking in on that rant was embarrassing enough. But. . .could he really. . .you know. . .have a lame _**heart-to-heart**_?

One may as well bring out the sad piano, and the cherry blossom petals.

"Look, um, 'Klavier'?" Saying that left a strange feel on the tongue. Apollo swore he pronounced that name wrong, but soon gave up and met his eyes. "You don't have to worry about me. My ankle and knees don't hurt as much as they did, so that's-"

"How bad did it hurt?"

"Hmm, I guess you could say that a real antique piece of furniture falling on me would have hurt less."

The natural reaction of staring with his mouth falling open was strong, but Klavier managed to battle it away and simply look on with the only thing different being worry in his eyes.

"That's nothing!" As if to convince him, Apollo smiled again. The only purpose it seemed to serve was to make his sanity seem off. Why would anyone smile after saying that? "Of course you wouldn't know, but he always wings up injuring me somehow when things don't go his way! It's not a problem, I swear, it's just something I'm forced to put up with until I'm free from their 'care'!"

So in a nutshell: Zak always did something like that when he screwed up in his opinion? But on stage, Apollo wasn't doing anything particularly wrong. . .he was just a little slow and unable to hide his true thoughts about him. What was their relationship anyway?

Klavier once more adjusted his gaze to the injured locations. This time, he leaned down a little and stretched his arm to reach his ankle. "Are you sure you're okay? That doesn't sound good."

"Look for yourself!" Apollo shifted farther away on the bench, balanced one leg over the other, and only briefly yanked off his shoe to reveal the ankle. Needless to say, it was very rapid. "There!" And before Klavier could blink a few times and look close enough, the shoe as back on his foot.

The only thing that Klavier saw was the fact he didn't like wearing socks.

Klavier shook his head, and closed the distance between them. There was a slight tension that overcame Apollo, but Klavier didn't mind propping his head with a hand and turning himself around to stare at him with seriousness on the face.

There was only one thing he felt he could say to let him encounter reality.

"Apollo, you don't seem to be cut out for acting."

At least Apollo sent him a grimace. . .that was something. One reaction was all he needed.

Klavier didn't mind smiling despite the grim mood. "How long do you expect you can keep it up? Besides, I'm not convinced your world is full of sunshine and rainbows. Why don't you tell me how you really feel again?"

"I, I barely know you! Let's not forget: you heard too much tonight. Oh God, if Mom were to follow us and overhear-"

"You're in luck: I _**want **_to know if you're going to be okay." In a rare moment, next to him, Apollo's eyes widened with genuine surprise and he opened his mouth – he promptly closed it, it's not like he could think of anything to retaliate with. "Yes, so don't hold back. I may be earning so much money, and I'm so _**blessed **_with good looks, but that doesn't mean there's no heart."

"That's. . .beautiful?" "(More like 'conceited'. But looking at his knowing smile, I'm sure that fact has been noticed and he doesn't care.)"

"So why don't you open up?" Klavier didn't know what made him glance over at the clock by the hotdog stand, but he did. The seconds seemed to tick very quickly. He returned to Apollo's hopeless expression. "I don't know if we'll see each other again, so it's not as if I can remember this and tease you about how you're taking life. For one night, be honest."

Well, maybe it would be like to a therapist? It's not like he'd ever share a bench at a fair with a rock star ever again – it's not like he was wrapped up inside of an unrealistic love story.

Despite a fleeting concern of whether he'd see him again, in the end Apollo knew that this was his chance to remove other pieces of stress from his mind. But he couldn't tell him the whole story, no, not with Trucy calling out to them before scurrying past and into the direction of that cupcake stand.

Oh wait, yeah Klavier's friend was still over there. Apollo held his breath momentarily, hoping that he'd notice her and make sure she didn't choke on more sweets.

For what felt like the first time, Klavier leaned closer and turned at his head to survey Apollo's expression. As soon as his eyes were on Trucy, he was smiling. This wasn't some kind of fake one, no polish to look pretty, it would seem. . .

"You really care about her, don't you?" He couldn't help thinking aloud, but at least it made Apollo jump slightly and turn him too.

When the four of them had been traveling, Trucy wasn't hesitant to establish the fact they were brother and sister officially. That was all she said as far as the family roots went, because her attention span soon ran out when Klavier started making love to himself verbally. What? There's no other description on earth.

Apollo arose from his seat again – ugh, why did Klavier have to follow suit like it was cute? –, but an honest-to-God smile still rested on his face when he nodded. "Well, there was a time when the _**concept **_of having a family was bizarre. I didn't know what to expect with Trucy at first, but now I think I'd pass out if she were to even stumble."

Dramatic. Nevertheless, Klavier swore that his companion's mood improved from the mere topic. For a moment, a flashback of his own family entered his thoughts. He lowered his head, hiding the lack of a charming grin from view.

You know, he always wondered what having an older brother who actually cared would be like. The answer to that was standing next to him and currently rubbing his quirky hair nervously.

"Um, I guess I just opened up?" The mere idea of it, floodgates opened too and sent color rushing into his cheeks. Apollo still stared at him, defeat clear on the face.

As if no familiar faces entered his thoughts, Klavier lifted his head once more and reached out his hand to clasp on Apollo's. "There are kids in the world who have siblings that could care less about their existence. From what I can see, you're doing a good job."

What was this?! Apollo wished he knew, but the hand on his shoulder seemed to be sending these weird vibes. But he didn't show nervousness, he actually felt complimented for once.

As an afterthought, Klavier's grin grew impish. "But you should try to be more of a cool brother, if you know what I mean. She should think of you as a role model, right?"

Okay, now the weird and friendly vibes seemed to leave. Either that or they merely were not received. Apollo felt there wasn't anything he could say; these narrowing eyes and the lack of a smile in this deadpan expression would help.

The point was certainly received, however. Klavier removed the hand, but did so never once feeling awkward about leaving it there for so long. In the end, he really didn't know what he thought of all this.

Apollo didn't know what made him look over at the cart, but he did. He saw Plug walk over with his arms full of cupcakes and Trucy at his side trying to ask him if he could teach her how to play an instrument sometime. Seeing them approach, he really wasn't comfortable with talking about his family anymore. As quick as the exchange had started, he leaned over to Klavier and told him not to bring it up.

So he didn't.

But despite the party back together, Klavier wanted to know more. He had only been informed of a little, and he still didn't know if his injuries were fine or what his relationship to Zak was. Now that his sister was back into the scene, a deserved smile stayed on the boy's lips even if he was surrounded by annoying people.

That was all Klavier needed to see to keep his good mood where it belonged. As he said before: he didn't have a heart of stone, no matter what the world tried to throw in his path to harden it.

_**0~0~0~0~0~**_

It took a three extra minutes to find his trousers and pull them back on, then slide on his shoes, but Daryan finally exited the hotel room. Soon enough, he encountered Nina who had returned from the vending machine down the hall and asked if she knew where the guys were.

Although she was cranky about having to deal with this so late, at least she could always dig into these peanuts she bought. Anyway, she explained how she last saw them leaving backstage. But seeing as they were _**special **_and all that crap in her world, she managed to estimate they were not inside the hotel at the time being.

He would have provided a sarcastic comment about her being very helpful, but he wasn't prepared for that plastic containing her evening snack jammed into his eye sockets. So he left on his search.

One could conjure the wrong idea. Daryan didn't want anyone thinking this was a typical thing – it wasn't. He would not be keeping tabs on those two so often, it's just that Klavier was their lead star and Plug. . . . .well. . . .actually-

Erm, he'd think of a reason one of these days.

Before Daryan had the knowledge of it, he was wandering about outside the hotel. Being noticed by fans didn't really bother him as much, so he didn't mind this. Besides, the temperature was lower and more comfortable. The hotel room was kind of stuffy because August apparently had a heat fetish.

In the end, he almost lost track of his goals. A whiff of what he assumed was sausage greeted his nose as he wandered over to the fair.

"(Hmm, a fair?)" How had he not noticed this? Daryan cracked something of a smirk, but kept it brief as he took in the overall atmosphere. "(What do people even do here? I know they must eat a lot of gross food – actually the sausage was decent, and you know it –. But what else?)"

Yeah, he never visited one of these before. But perhaps tonight could be an educational experience. The whole point of this gig was to kick off their new lives, and live it up before gray hairs started growing in. Klavier and Plug could wait for one second, right? Of course.

With that decision, Daryan casually strolled into the scene to take in a few sights before it closed. He didn't know the hours, but he had to assume it must have been going on for a while because parents were walking by with tired brats following after.

Personally, he didn't see anything too entertaining. He was starting to yawn the longer he walked about, not getting the point of this. A bigger fair would have something interesting; a bigger fair would have big rides and whatnot. But then again, this was a clean hotel and they probably didn't want to wipe up anyone's meals.

Jeez, the only thing of interest was Klavier and Plug hanging out with a dork and some kid.

Wait a second.

"(The * * * *?)" Well, that's new. Daryan immediately whirled around sharply to get this picture back in his sight. When he was turned properly, he rubbed his palms over his eyes and then peeked through. "(Really? You've got a million opportunities to cause a scandal or two, and you're spending your time here?!)"

From this angle, he was just far away enough so they wouldn't notice. Just to ensure he didn't intrude on their fun, for now, crouched beneath the bench. He could see through the cracks or peek over the top, but he didn't worry about being noticed because they were too absorbed in their lame activity.

Meh, it was one of those stupid 'fortune telling' things. A con man in a wizard costume complete with a fake beard was sitting on bent legs and he hunched over a glittery ball. In front of him, Klavier actually seemed to care about this and sat in the same manner with hands atop that ball.

_**Oh for the love of God**_,**_ really_**? Daryan rolled his eyes, irritation threatening to leap off the charts and turn into complete anger about that stupid scene. He soon paused however, listening to the con man hum mysteriously.

"I. . .I see it. . .!" Yeah well, the only thing Daryan could see was an embarrassment in the making. "I see you walking down the sidewalk, you're covered in rainwater but you've no umbrella."

"Okay?" Obviously, it wasn't something Klavier expected to hear. He briefly glanced at the rest of the party for a hint or two. But everyone looked stumped. "So why is it raining so much in LA?"

"The future holds more curiosity than it does logic, my friend." The con man replied, dramatically waving his fingers before him. Rapidly, he dropped his hands back to his thighs and continued speaking. "You're all alone on this sidewalk, you seem melancholic for some reason. As I gaze closer, I see that your cheek has a cut across it. . .perhaps by a kitchen knife? In any event, you walk and walk on your way to what appears to be a dark alley. . .ah crap! I have been disconnected!"

Daryan was willing to bet that he never had been connected to the real world.

Seeming thoughtful about his depressing 'future', Klavier arose and joined the party at the side. But disconnections obviously had been worked on, and now the con man pointed at Trucy to let her know it was her turn. She made a quick cheer and hurriedly fell down to her knees with hands out over the glittery ball.

Just as the con man had done for Klavier, he waved his hand dramatically above Trucy's and then bowed as if he mentally needed to insert a coin for use of the public phone.

Daryan tapped his fingers impatiently, still finding all of this to be pure nonsense. He could have just left out of not giving a damn, but he felt maybe this would be semi-entertaining. The kid obviously had no connection with the real world herself. . .she probably never frowned once in her life. That's the younger generation for you; they don't know hard times.

"I see it. . .!" More dramatically, crazy hands. Then the con man bowed his head once more. "Little girl, I see you behind what looks to be a big stage. . .you must have been preparing for either a school production or an actual show."

"Well, of course I'd be preparing for a show!" Trucy chirped immediately, proudly gesturing to herself and unknowingly causing break ups in the man's call. "Someday, I'll be a famous magician – I bet I'm doing all kinds of amazing tricks in preparation for the big show!"

The con man shook his head. "No, I don't hear people cheering yet. They seem patient; they have complete respect for either you or whomever this show is intended for. But lass, it is possible your dreams are a reality here. I cannot say at the moment; the connection is being weighed down by a disbelieving force in the area." Daryan propped his cheek by a hand, head shaking left and right as he couldn't believe this crap. "For some reason however, I see you hiding yourself behind a prop that looks to be one of those boxes you 'saw'."

Trucy stared at him, not really knowing how to react to 'hiding'. It seemed strange to her, and she looked over at her brother for a hint or two. Apollo seemed confused himself as his arms folded and he glanced toward the sky.

"Wait. . .! I'm full of a revelation!" Well, he was full of _**something**_. The con man lifted his head, absolute shock on his face. "The reason you're hiding is out of fear. Your brother is being attacked by someone throwing objects that are not props! This man looks quite a lot like Z-"

Apollo's sudden clear of the throat interrupted him. When that was over, he pulled Trucy to her feet by the arm and sent the con man a glare.

"I've been disconnected! Noooo. . .!" And melodramatically, the con man's expression of shock reverted to his normal one and he fell forward with hands clutching his hair tightly.

Everyone in the party stared, unable to look away from the chaos that was the con man writhing for a moment before sitting upright again with perfect posture.

". . .So who's next?" Now smiling kindly, the con man looked before his customers. Trucy was holding into Klavier's leg and he kept a hand against her back for protection in case he spontaneously exploded or something. The only one not reacting too badly was Apollo, and he pointed at him. "You, you've been quiet throughout the services. You certainly must have had good reasons for ending our thrilling conversation with the higher ups!"

Suddenly, Plug had a good feeling about this. A wicked smirk crossed his face, but his arm was hidden as it reached out and 'helpfully' shoved him over. Well, actually it really hurt and Apollo wound up tripping and falling to his hands and knees. But it was something.

"Lay your hands atop the ball, nonbeliever." 'Nonbeliever'? Daryan once more peeked over the bench. Was this kid actually not so lame as he looked? Tch, probably not. "Come on! You've everything to gain from this! Seeing as you ruined a warning from the higher ups to your sister, you may as well be forced to endure the kind of suspense she feels!"

Apollo really didn't like where this was going. He sent his companions a worried glance, but they all seemed cool with it as they smiled generically. He gave up; only seconds later he was wearing a blank expression as he sat on his knees uncomfortably and touched that shiny ball.

Really, this felt dumb. He swore he was losing a higher percentage of his brain with every dramatic 'hummmmm' the con man made.

Finally – "I'm seeing it. . .! Clarity. . .!" The con man cleared his throat, bowing his head as connections were enabled. He must have gotten some really good Wi-Fi or whatever; Apollo noticed he was smiling broadly. "This conversation is so crisp and detailed! I see your. . .smiling face? Huh."

"Okay, so I can smile." Apollo tapped his fingers on that ball, expression one of no-nonsense as he leaned closer. "But why am I smiling?"

"Are you comfortable with intimate detailing, sir?"

"I'm comfortable with any detailing. Just tell me what's going on, this is hurting my knees-"

"Okay then! I see hands wrapping around your back. Someone is hugging you, and you're smiling but your body is tense as if this has never happened before."

Apollo leaned back again, unable to say anything to that. Truth be told: he couldn't even remember if someone had ever caught him off guard with a simple gesture of affection. This was quite a change from being attacked previously.

"This person smiles brighter than the sun, but the full appearance isn't clear to me."

"I thought you had 'clarity' earlier."  
"Well, the higher ups sometimes play with me. Besides, I believe there is another source of disbelief among us."

Daryan once more propped his cheek up with a hand, feeling almost ashamed of everyone else except for this dork.

"Anyway, this person speaks of love for you. Words of confession, I assume. They're hot." Apollo immediately tensed, alertness activating with warning alarms beginning to ring in his head. But the con man didn't mind; he breathed calmly and relaxed the hands on his thighs. "This person's desire is literally. . .ow! I got too close for a second! Yes, this person wants to you to stop rambling nervously and kiss them. But you won't do it, and so they take matters into their own hands and advance close again and capture your mouth. But you feel strongly too; you're tightly grasping their clothes with both hands and working hard to stab their lips open with your tongue-"

"_**This is stupid**_!" Apollo immediately jumped to his feet. – 'My connection!' – "Come on, Trucy! It's so late, you're probably tired!"

How was smoke and fire not rising off him in that moment? Both rock stars leaned away, admittedly kind of intimidated by this and quietly wondering if he was going to be the one to spontaneously explode.

Trucy laughed behind her hand, then casually held both arms behind her and approached Apollo. "But it's not that late, Polly! I never got an answer about if I could be taught how to play-"

"Well, we're going back to the hotel!" "(Y-yes, it's probably safe. Mom should be asleep by this hour, and Zak should be elsewhere throwing a tantrum. Oh God, why am I letting this fake future get under my skin?!)"

Daryan eventually rose from his hiding spot. No one seemed to notice him; they were chuckling like idiots and teasing the dork about how he doesn't have to be scared of 'growing up'. Or something. Ugh, it was all so stupid. . .and he hated himself for agreeing with that boy.

In the end, he sent them all a final look of disapproval and decided to leave. But there was a final thought lingering in his mind as he did so.

"(Should I mention their choice in entertainment to the other guys? Someone needs to bring them back to the real world!)"

Tch, knowing Klavier and Plug, they wouldn't even be the slightest embarrassed by their choice of spending the night. They were having too much fun to care about trivial matters like that. Not to mention that Klavier sent the dork repeated smiles that almost looked flirty while he teased.

Then again, Daryan was tired as hell from the previous drinking episode and concert. He more than likely was seeing all of those 'flirty smiles' through non-accurate eyes.

T . B . C .

_**0~0~0~0~0~**_

I hope that was satisfying to you all. But writing a lot of the interaction was tough, but what do you expect from recovering after writing a story where it was intentional to write a certain German prosecutor/rock star out of character?

In any event, I hope this wasn't as horrible as I feared. You can be rest assured that I'll work as hard as I can to make the story not fall flat on the face, but I'll have my chance for that in the chapter after the next. . .I'm almost sure.

Thank you for reading, and don't forget to review/favorite/alert if you actually don't mind my input! Now get ready for this train wreck to ease to a stop, because Salve-SiS will be here soon to deliver sanity in the fifth chapter! Until then, the "Master Mind" of chaos says goodbye for now. . .


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